After the Gold Rush — The Off-Season Ahead

In years past, the Warriors’ season would have been dissected ten times over by the beginning of June. We would have had six weeks to break down all the failures and speculate on ways to put it all back together again in some better form. This year, things are different. June has arrived and we’ve had just enough time for the sting of defeat to dissipate and the magnitude of the team’s growth to sink in. The Warriors — physically broken and mentally inexperienced — gave the West’s best team (at least in the playoffs) all it could handle. The taste of playoff basketball appears to have left the team focused and hungry for more. It’s been a generation since things looked this good for Warriors fans, but there are still some big questions in the off-season ahead. Here’s my first take on what we’ll be working over for the months to come.

I’ve carved the Warriors’ off-season issues into three categories: coaching, additions and internal development. For the Warriors to build upon their 2012-13 success, they don’t need to pull off a miracle in any of the categories. Dwight Howard doesn’t need to materialize to save the team — although if I’m Dwight, this would be a tempting venue to attempt to rebuild my NBA reputation. The Warriors just need to focus on the things that finally put all the losing behind them — smart, unselfish players; a game-plan that puts equal weight on both ends of the court; and the drive of a group with something left to prove.

Coaching

Advertisement

So long, Michael Malone — The least surprising development of the Warriors’ off-season is Malone’s departure. Once the Warriors started making noise in the playoffs, particularly with their defense, it was only a question of where, not if, Malone would go. After two years as the NBA’s highest paid assistant, he’s earned a shot at the lead chair — and all the criticism and second-guessing that comes with it. His prior position as the experienced voice whispering in Mark Jackson’s ear was a fairly sheltered one. He ended up with lots of credit for what the Warriors did well and saw Jackson catch almost all the criticism for the team’s mistakes. In reality, the good and bad are harder to parse. Malone has helped teams improve defensively at each stop along his ascendance to head coach, but Mark Jackson and his remaining assistants care deeply about it as well. While Malone was instrumental in changing the Warriors’ defensive culture, some of the other assistants deserve credit for their individual work with the Warriors’ two biggest defensive surprises (Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes). We won’t know how much Malone will be missed until Jackson hits the sidelines on his own next October, but with each game Jackson logged next to Malone, the assistant’s importance decreased.

Mark Jackson, reintroduced — If the roles were reversed, with Michael Malone as the Warriors’ head coach these past two seasons and Mark Jackson his lead assistant credited for motivating a rag-tag group of young players to a solid post-season run, there would be a buzz surrounding Jackson’s ascendancy to a head coaching role. People would no doubt question whether he learned enough in two years to take the lead, but his supporters would point to the praise universally heaped upon him by his players as evidence that he’s ready for a shot. Fortunately for the Warriors, Jackson hasn’t just been an assistant for the past two years — he’s been getting an even more intensive crash course on NBA coaching. I was very skeptical at the start of his coaching career, but he’s gradually won me over. The coach whispering in his players ear during dead-balls and time-outs is far more strategic and Xs/Os focused — as the players will tell you — than the former broadcaster that takes the mic in press situations. Just because Jackson is gifted in the art of giving the media no substance in neatly wrapped packages of words does not mean he’s a coach without substance. He’s shown steady progress when it comes to avoiding past mistakes. He still has a ton to learn, but has long been a student of the game, dating back to his playing days. Jackson’s third season as a head coach will be his first without an asterisk next to his title, at least in the minds of some fans. If the last two years were Jackson’s training run, he — like Malone — has proven he’s ready to lead a team.

Additions

You get what you pay for — After years of giving lip-service to paying the luxury tax, Joe Lacob and the Warriors’ owners will now have a perfect opportunity to prove that they were serious. The most likely addition to the 2013-14 roster is a familiar one. If the Warriors can find a way to bring back Jarrett Jack for under $6 million a year or so, they should do it. He’s a Curry ankle tweak away from being the Warriors’ starting point guard, so he has a rightful claim to being paid close to one. His defense was exposed in the playoffs and his offense fluctuated between heroic and horrific, but there aren’t going to be better alternatives in the Warriors’ price range (the mid-level exception). The intangibles he brings to the locker room also have to be factored into the equation. With the Warriors over the cap, their only hope of getting a top-tier back-up point guard is to sign the one for whom they’re lucky enough to hold Bird rights, alleviating cap restraints. If Jack gets a better offer or the Warriors decide that they don’t want to cross over into the tax to keep him, the potential free agent targets they could realistically afford aren’t particularly attractive. In addition to a back-up point guard, they need an athletic defensive big. There are a few possibilities on the market that I’ll cover in a later post, but not many. It won’t be a dramatic move, but re-signing Jack will give the Warriors the most bang for their buck.

Dwight Howard, again – Those looking for a dramatic move are no doubt clinging to the third annual “could Dwight join the Warriors” rumor extravaganza. For the first time, the possibility isn’t totally laughable. Howard plays best in a system with three-point shooters to spread the court, giving him room to operate down low. Stephen Curry is a rising superstar, Mark Jackson has the reputation of being a players coach and the Bay Area media market is close enough to the bright lights Howard seems to want. That said, there are other more logical landing places for the embattled star. My first guess would be that he stays with the Lakers, since he’s the youngest of any of the pieces they have left and seemed to mesh better with the team once his health improved. If Howard relocates, Houston should be the leader since he could join a fully-constructed playoff team without a talent-draining sign-and-trade deal. As fun as the Warriors-related speculation may be, I expect it to be nothing more than that for now.

Internal Development

The David Lee question – It’s rare that you can pinpoint the exact moment that a team makes a jump from one level to the next, but I’d nominate Game 2 of the Nuggets series for the moment that the Warriors rose from fringe playoff team to genuine playoff threat. The story of that jump involves both David Lee’s absence and how the team dealt with it. When Lee went down, the defense became stronger. When Barnes asserted himself offensively, the loss of Lee’s scoring became less damaging. It’s wrong to claim that the Warriors are a better team without Lee, but they are almost certainly now a better team using less of Lee than they did in the past. Instead of being weighed down by the bad parts of Lee’s game (defense) for 40 minutes a night to gain the benefit of the things he does well (pick-and-roll offense, passing, rebounding), the team can play him less and more creatively. It’s premature to start the Lee-as-sixth-man talk, but I’m intrigued by a Curry/Thompson/Rush/Barnes/Bogut starting line-up (assuming Rush returns at near full strength), with Lee logging 25-30 minutes off the bench. Much like Jack was a minute-heavy bench player for the team last season, the Warriors would be better able to hide Lee’s defense, benefit from his scoring kick on the second unit and deploy his high-energy motor for the entire game, not just the first three quarters. Lee would be awfully expensive as a reserve, but the Warriors shouldn’t let contracts dictate the best basketball line-up. No one is arguing that Jefferson get minutes simply because he’s the third highest paid player on the team next season. Lee was nothing but a good teammate last season and his playoff return was incredibly gutsy, but there’s a bit of pressure on him now to defend his role as a major-minute starter. That pressure should drive him to become a better, more well-rounded player.

The injured reserve — The single biggest factor in the Warriors’ ceiling next season is health. If Andrew Bogut and Brandon Rush return fully healthy and Stephen Curry is able to remain healthy, they should be one of the top four teams in the West. Bogut is still the wild-card. He showed flashes during the playoffs of being a transformational player for the Warriors — completely confounding opponents with his defense and rebounding. Rush’s potential impact is more complementary. He provides the Warriors another long, active defender for the perimeter. He can hit the three but also added a slashing element to his offensive game before the injury. He’s another dangerous weapon for defenses to leave unguarded in their rush to cover Curry or Thompson. Much like Barnes made a living in the playoffs being the guy matched up against an opponent’s weakest defender, Rush should have lots of opportunities created by his increasingly talented teammates. Finally, now more than ever, the Warriors are Curry’s team. A serious ankle injury would be the most devastating thing that could happen to it. Given his history, it’s too early to sleep easy at night. All we can do is hope for the best and enjoy every game he survives.

Overall, this off-season may have less excitement than past ones — no lottery picks and a roster good enough not to blow up through trades. But I’ll gladly trade excitement in the off-season for the thrilling run we just witnessed in the post-season. The team still has plenty of room for improvement, but the steps are now likely to be smaller and more subtle.

[Programming note: my day job is going to make regular posts difficult until early July, but I hope to have player grades and a few other season-ending posts up shortly. Thanks to all who have continued the discussion in the meantime.]

On a special episode today, Tom & Benyam catch up with Golden State Warriors star Andrew Bogut for a chat about last years successful season which saw Andrew come back from a horror run of injuries to help the Warriors make it to the Western Conference Semi Finals. Furthermore, the boys ask Andrew about – the success of his team-mates Steph Curry & David Lee, rookie hazing, his move to California from Milwaukee, off-season plans, leadership & Mark Jackson.

MIAMI — Six long years. A whopping six years have somehow passed since four-time champ Tim Duncan has had the chance to play for a ring.

Which also means that Gregg Popovich, amazingly, has never had the chance to zing a sideline reporter on the game’s grandest stage.

Duncan, Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 2007. The rules requiring both coaches to be interviewed during nationally televised games were instituted starting with the 2007-08 season. Do the math and you quickly conclude that history will be made Thursday night, when Popovich, for the first time in his five trips to the championship round, is forced to field two questions from a microphone-toting intruder while the game is actually going on.

His interactions with the Doris Burkes, David Aldridges and Craig Sagers of the basketball universe have evolved into some of the most anticipated appointment television that the NBA can serve up. So to properly prepare for Burke’s visit with San Antonio’s famously cranky coach, leading into the second quarter of Game 1 of the 2013 Finals, ESPN.com has commissioned a deep dive into Pop’s (very) reluctant coexistence with sideline reporters.

A detailed look at what it’s like for them, what it’s like for him … and how it all got to be so prickly — and so must-see — in this age of near-instantaneous video posting.

GRRM is a bad man!….. talented and creative but uncompromising and ruthless.

Let’s hope Steph takes a leaf out of his book.

Steve

Mike Tirico, the ESPN broadcaster who will be calling the Finals, gives his thoughts on the series coming up and who he thinks will win. He also talks a little about the big steroid news coming out of Miami. (95.7FM The Game)

What is Jarrett Jack’s value on the 2013 NBA free agent market? (GSOM)

My approach to this offseason has been that the Warriors need to do what they can to keep this team together to the extent possible: we really don’t know what this team (Brandon Rush included) can do at full health, but we do know they can be one of the best teams in the last 30+ years of franchise history at partial health? Jack is clearly part of that, despite all the well-documented deficiencies.

If it’s true the Warriors are unafraid to veer into luxury tax territory – the benefit of dumping Charles Jenkins and Jeremy Tyler – then there’s a legitimate chance that the entirety of what the Warriors have to offer (from organizational culture to coaching to team success) will be the best on the market for Jack.

That still leaves the door open to wonder whether the Warriors should consider any one of those other options on the market…and anybody who has sat within earshot of me at Oracle Arena could probably guess my feelings about considering other options. But the Warriors might actually be in better position to bring Jack back than some have initially assumed, especially if they’re willing to outspend the few elite teams asking him to “squeeze under the midlevel exception”.

@Sarte, thank you for the call out. I think the NBA Africa site is for all of Africa rather than just S. Africa but I am not sure. I am curious how other countries fare. Do you have NBA New Zealand for example? Or is it the USA site? NBA Europe?

When I watch the games on the internet I often get the NBA in-game English and then during commercials I get various languages. The last game it was Spanish and my Spanish is not so good but it is still interesting to hear a little.

http://, NCDub

dr.

Do you kn ow what’s the status of the Dubs supposed 2 conditional 2nd. round picks?

Also…what about Lacob buying a pick & I’m assuming if he does it doesn’t count against the cap?

Thanks

al oha

Lacob said in the 5/29 KNBR Gary and Larry interview show, that he thinks it is possible to acquire (buy?) a FIRST ROUND Draft Pick in the upcoming Draft.

Gwydion

Regarding adding a 3pt shot to DLee’s arsenal, I have to say ‘WTF.’

You have a team full of guys who can hit that shot, but you want one of the few, really the only inside scoring option left with Landry leaving, to step out of bounding position to chuck up shots that he’ll hitt a third of the time if he really works at it.

What would be the upside of that? Are you just looking for new things to criticize? My guess is that he doesn’t take those shot because he knows he can’t hit them with enough regularity to make a positive contribution.

There are other parts of his game to improve. 3-point shooting would not be high on my list. There’s only so much floor spacing you can do.

http://, NCDub

al oha (263)

Buying a pick or trading modestly might really pay off–there seem to be a number of big 5′s & capable/big 1′s. I’m still wondering if the purchase $$ counts against the cap–I’m guessing no & it’d just amount to the minimum signing of a rookie.

I’m certain the Logo & Myers are already checking these guys out & might surprise us yet again–affordably–as we wait for Bieds+Jeff $$ next year..

Dubcakes

@260 Steve:

Great song…Alison Krauss’ song was from the movie title: Notting Hill.
If you like her, here is another one from the movie: Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil.

@195 jsl: Va de Vi in Walnut Creek is one of Andrew Boguts’ favorite restaurant (I haven’t been there)

believewhat

The COY jinx continues Warriors win two playoff series in last 6 years and got two COYs fired. Guess, losing to warriors is not acceptable.

Funny thing is Coach Karl reacted talking about COYs getting fired and Spolestra was relieved that he didn’t win COY.

BTW, Coach Karl is a great regular season coach and actually did Nuggets a huge favor by getting rid of Melo and piling up talent. Coach who ever inherits the team, inherits lot of talent.

nelliesbiggestfan

kudos to dr. john for calling out JSL for his despicable smear of conservatives. This has got to stop, it is simply not acceptable to paint entire groups as racist. Conseratives should be allowed to criticize liberals no matter what their race just as liberals are free to criticize conservatives like Clarence Thomas.

If you are going to accuse people of racism then name names and we can have that debate. If you think Lindsey graham and john McCain are racists then say so and then give some proof of that accusation. That’s what was done with Edwards here.

If the honorable tim Scott of south Carolina is ever the republican nominee for president I can assure you I will support and vote for him. All of you progressives will be free to oppose him and run attack ads against him without being accused of being racists. Shame on all of you for not affording conservatives that same right.

http://Yahoo! PeteyBrian

@264 Gwydion
Lee’s playoff injury – was a blessing in disguise. It forced Mark Jackson to play Barnes and Green at PF – and opened up and spaced the floor with their 3 point shooting at only 35% or so. The lane was more open than ever. There might be something here… The team actually played well. Perhaps even better…

Why are fans/bloggers talking about Lee coming off the bench? He’s an All-Star! Adding a three point shot? He shoots over 50% from 2! Lee playing less minutes? He’s a 40-minute per game player!

Bogut and Lee – paired together in limited minutes – haven’t impressed… Can you have 2 big men hovering around the key?

http://, NCDub

DubCakes (267)

jsl (195)

Va di Vi seems to be paying you both commissions–I’ll definitely check it out when I am back in the Creek. Would rather dine with you guys though than Bogut.

BTW…isn’t there now a neat wine bar in the alley next to Tiffany & across from Restoration Hardware? If yes what do you think?

Im still a sucker for Prima even as you’ve said that it’s not what it was. Sentimentality I giess.

Also loved Uncle Yu’s in Lafayette–great whole fish & Roederer (sorry DC)–but liked the one in San Ramon even better.

And…don’t forget Burmese in Berkely a la me & Moto.

http://Yahoo! PeteyBrian

Bogut ain’t much of a floor spacer. His defender – just hangs out with him near the rim to provide help defense.

Landry-Lee worked well because they can BOTH space the floor with mid-range perimeter shots or take it to the rim.

Bogut-Barnes/Green works. We witnessed this in the playoffs. Barnes and Green can camp at the 3 point line completely spreading the floor and make a PF closeout at the 3 point line.

Does Bogut-Lee work well?

dr_john

NCDub:

No word on those 2nd rounders, and I’ve tried. Both Philly and Atlanta have 2 2nd round picks this year, so I’ll watch the draft just to see if one of those converts to the Warriors.

I’d like to see the Warriors buy one of those early 2nd round picks from Cleveland, or trade these other 2 2nd round picks for it, or for one of those rumored-to-be-available 1st round picks.

For salary purposes the roster must be at least 12 players. For determining the status of some of the exceptions certain of the cap holds are not included. Having a draft pick is included in salary, but as a cap hold (which is a higher amount).

Salary is used for determining the trade rules, etc. Payroll is what actually gets paid during the year.

The rules that apply to the Warriors are for teams over the cap but non-taxpaying.

dr_john

but “not” as a cap hold. . .

believewhat

Regarding Lee and 3PT shot,

On Lee trying 3PT shot, I think he can hit it at better than .333% which would be better than .500%FG from the rim. Couple of attempts per game doesn’t hurt and will space the floor and it will only improve the PPS(points per shot). Coach Jackson did mention that Lee has green signal to shoot even 3PT shot, so I am guessing Lee does make some in practice. Lee is not even in top 40 in the league in PPS. Curry is at 32 at 1.29 and Lee at 40+ rank with 1.26. The reason Curry and Lee has less PPS is because they do not go to line that much. JanG pointed out that Lee can add some fakes in his moves that would help him get to line. The PPS leaders are usually the big guys and Carl Landry sitting pretty at #7 with 1.45 PPS. Curry’s PPS will improve if he improves his 2PT FG% to 50% which is possible and go to line bit more.

BTW, David Lee is #6 in ADJ FG% among PFs and #3 among PF starters in league, so we can’t really complain about his offense. It is that Lee has a chance to expand. Seeing Bosh shooting 28% from 3PT still spreads the floor enough(in most games and not against Pacers) with that %, I think Lee can do that and advantage team. It is all hearsay that Lee can actually hit a 3PT shot, so random thoughts on a slow day.

believewhat

On Curry, his 2PT FG% is at .449 for a mediocre #30 among PGs. He was 50% in that in 2010-11 season. So, Curry can get back to that level, hopefully he will next season, he did improve it to .465 in post season and in general looked like he improved his FG% as the season progressed after his early struggles and slow start to the season.

jsl

Doc: I DO believe that many TP/GOP types are racist; how else explain the overweening animosity and hatred for Obama and his Black appointees, especially Susan Rice. And I’d be happy to do the analysis to back it up; wouldn’t be difficult at all.

BUT, you’re right. This isn’t the place. So, I’ll let that go here.

OT: Fair enough. Moral outrage and “legal-attack mode” argument can make an incendiary stew. I’ve had my say, and am done with it — unless someone wants to gin it up again.

Dubcakes and NCDub: Didn’t know Bogs was such a Va de Vi fan, but I can sed why. And, coincidentally, Dub, that wine place behind Tiffany IS Va de Vi! Maybe the next time you come to The Creek we can all try to get together for a meal there.

jsl

On a ball note, sorry to hear about George Karl. He deserved better.

believe: Nice stuff above re Lee and Curry; agree on all points.

Someone had argued that Lee couldn’t shoot the three because his shot has that flat trajectory. Well, it does, but his shot is still pretty true. And he didn’t have any mid-range until he was in the league a few years. So he should be able to develop a better three than most fours — including Bosh.

Can you imagine if he and Steph ran the PNR, and when both guys stayed with Steph, he could pop it out to Lee for an open three? Sort of a sweeter take-off on the Curry-Landry PNR we were seeing at season’s end.

Steve

@266 DC, thanks. Pretty lady, great voice.

believewhat

dr. and others,

“Marc Stein of ESPN:

Hearing early projections given to GMs and owners in May have NBA salary cap rising to just $58.5 mil next season. This season: $58.044 mil
“

http://, NCDub

jsl (278)

You’re on my friend–makes me smile!

Coltraning

@ believe

I think another reason David Lee doesn’t get to the line a lot is that he doesn’t seem to get the calls when he does go to the glass with a shot. Probably because it is rather easy to block his shot. so the referees do not give him the benefit of the doubt. I love his toughness, his mid range shot and that he is willing to crash the glass. I would hate to see him turn into what Chris bosh is become. How odd to see a guy who used to be a 24 and 11 player basically hanging out on the perimeter now. I guess that is Miami’s game plan… Can’t really argue with it too much, due to their extraordinary season. They seem to want to leave the key clear for LeBron and, to a lesser extent, Dwayne Wade. However, I think Chris bosh’s timidity against Indiana really hurt the team.

Like I said before, on the “controversy”, I am done with this, have said my piece, had responses, Some of which agreed, some of which disagreed, and some of which utterly misrepresented what I said, and the topic has been gnawed to death. Posters are smart enough to draw their own conclusions and not let others misrepresent our points of view. I am sure most of you are is sick of this topic as I am. It is a freaking basketball blog, for gods sake. It’s fun to talk about everything under the sun, but when the rhetoric starts getting ugly, inflammatory, etc., it’s time to move on. To continue at this point is to become one of those 15-year-old boys who argues for the sake of arguing, just has to have the last word and can’t let it go. Knock yourself out if that’s what you get off on. My goal in all of these things is to try to come to an understanding with each other. If that’s not possible, if there is no desire in that regard, I just move on. Life is too short.

@ncdub and others on Burmese. I have been a Burmese food addict for well over 30 years. What an amazing confluence of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian sources, Not to mention its own special twist. It started in Boston when there was a great restaurant on Huntington Avenue called the Mandalay. I became very close with the owners, and even had a graduation party there. Several good joints in New York City as well. I’ll hear my favorite is the Mandalay on California and sixth Avenue in San Francisco it doesn’t get the hype of Burma superstar, but is, IMHO, the best in town. Make sure to call ahead for a reservation as it gets pretty packed, especially on the weekends.

@jsl
On causation versus correlation, I am confused at your reply. I was asking the question, not drawing a conclusion. I was asking whether you thought it was causation or correlation. That is a question… At least the last time I checked, a question is not a conclusion. I also asked whether you thought it was causation or correlation that the team does five points better for 100 possessions when Lee is on the floor. Sometimes it feels like you just misread what I say. I will give you a simple example.

I never said David Lee was deficient for a star power forward. I said he was a less than average defender, as are most star power forwards in the game. How you managed to read that I was saying Lee was deficient for an all star level power forward is beyond me.

in a (perhaps quixotic) last attempt to have a calm discussion with you on rebounding, I was trying to mull over in my mind why a team might get less rebounds while David Lee was on the floor. That was my question on causation and correlation. Is it possible that the offense is more efficient when David Lee is on the floor so there are less rebounds to get? One reason that Miami gets so few rebounds is that it is a hyper efficient offense. As a team it shot about 50% this year. As a team! Now if the team gets a lower percentage of defensive rebounds when Lee is on the floor that is another matter altogether. Again, I would ask why that is? That’s a question, not a conclusion, by the way.

If we go back to the 1960s, one reason there were so many more rebounds available is that the shooting percentages were rather terrible. As well, the pace of the game was faster. If you put together a fast-paced game with a lot of misses there clearly are more rebounds available.

So my question is twofold. First, does the percentage of defense of rebounds go down for the team when David Lee is on the floor? If so, why?

http://, NCDub

Thiught…

I really like George–from the DubYears when Nellie brought him in then supposedly ran him out ran him out?? He’s a class guy & was always loyal (one of Nellie’s big mistakes IMO). He deserved better with Nellie & with Denver–geez. What’s this league coming to anyway?

http://, NCDub

col (283)

Love Burmese too–Am I Anthony Bourdain?

I’ll buy you a drink too if we can meet there when I re-visit the Creek –jsl listening?–Moto too?–DubCakes too? Might have to mortgage the farm to pay up.

Oops…GoDubs.

moto

(271) the Burmese places ‘Nan Yang’ and ‘Burma Superstar’ are both in oaktown, not berserkley. the consensus here ranks Mandalay out west in the avenues in SF as the top Burmese spot.

Slimman

Hey guys, let’s bring the family back to the table. I love all of your opinions, well…, almost all, but we should stop with the arguing. With no basketball to talk about the blog devolved into political and racial commentary, which never soothes the soul, even if it is important.

Let’s all take off the gloves and leave the arguing to the resident troll. It is a weird position for this blog to have an off-season after a post-season run, rather than having a potential lottery pick to discuss. I think it has put us out of sorts. =)

nelliesbiggestfan

JSL doubles down on his bigotry. He writes that “many” TP/GOP people are racist and he uses as evidence our “overweening animosity and hatred of Obama and Rice”.

Of course it’s white liberals who decide that our animosity is overweening and we are therefore racist, isn’t it ? Another tactic is accusing republicans of using racist code or dog whistles. Of course its white liberals who decide when that is happening as well.

All of this is just despicable political behavior, the ends justifies the means. Accusing the opposition of racism has huge political benefits, the black vote stays democratic and republicans are kept on the defensive. Who cares about ethics when we’ve got a country that needs transforming, right ?

Gmoney

I echo Slimman’s sentiments.

sartre

@ murinur, fortunately I’ve not been as long suffering on either front having become a fan of both the books and the Dubs over the past eight years.

@ gwydion and col, I don’t think anyone would want to see Lee needlessly diminish his rebounding and inside scoring by staying on the perimeter too much. But he already takes long 2s and doesn’t convert them particularly efficiently. By extending some of those attempts out beyond the arc he would increase his scoring production even if he only shot 30% from beyond the arc. Helping space the floor by doing so would make scoring easier for him and his teammates. Kevin Love has no problem rebounding and scoring and he is a 3-point threat. As believe and jsl note, he has increased his range and ways of scoring across his career.

sartre

This 2010 snippet suggests that Lee is just as crazy as those of us saying he could occasionally take 3s instead of long 2s to improve his game:

“Lee believes the next dimension to his game is adding a 3-point shot. “I like to lengthen out my jump shot to be a 3-point shooter,” he said.

Not saying I’ll be [Danilo] Gallinari out there. That won’t be the focus of my game, but I hit two shots [Wednesday in Toronto] with my heels on the line. I think I can be a decent 3-point shooter. I think that’s the next step.”

Seems that Lee also sees value in it. I don’t think he is a Lee basher

http://4points(five) jsl

Col: Several calm responses.

1. As to the “causation-correlation” nature of RBing with Lee on and off the court, I don’t know how I could have been clearer: “I was obviously talking correlation. I never said — or implied — that Lee “causes” his team to get fewer boards when he’s on the floor.”

That’s what I wrote. Where’s the ambiguity?

2. As for Lee being a “less than average defender” — I was quoting you directly. We were ONLY discussing his D; and I specifically noted I didn’t think he was “abysmal on D.”

You must think you have a point there, but I don’t see it.

3. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, you ask: “Is it possible that the offense is more efficient when David Lee is on the floor so there are less rebounds to get?”

Sure. As we used to say in the law, “Anything is possible.” Now, the key would be to look at both percentage rates and absolute numbers if one wants to try to support that hypothesis. (I’d also want to see a breakdown by quarters, or halves at least; but that’s because I value Q4 play higher than some.) I don’t have an answer, but I would think that analysis would be something a strong Lee supporter might want to do — especially given the incontrovertible fact that, historically, Lee’s teams RB better with him off the floor.

And I’d be happy to see it, if/when it’s forthcoming.

Now, what I had hoped to read from you was that you’d actually gone back and read the Grantland piece (linked several times on this thread — @160 and 239) on Lee — and that you might have an articulate response to that analysis. But no.

Did you even read it? If so, what’s your take? If not, why not?

http://4points(five) jsl

sartre @291: Very funny!

I don’t know how you keep pulling these disparate threads. But, please, keep it up.

dr_john

Off-season Blog Speculation ver. 2.1:

If Jameer Nelson commands 3 years 25 million with an 18 million 2 year guarantee with buyout, what is Jarrett Jack worth?

My assumption is: more dollars and years than the Warriors want to accomodate. A partial list of backup PGs which had some success this year:

My thoughts on the PF-C: we’ll see Kuzmic in the summer league. Maybe he’ll look ready, maybe not. He’s not real young, so he should be here by the year after, or maybe not at all. I’d be happy if the FO feels like filling this spot with any of these guys: Shelden Williams, Jeremy Tyler, or Mike Muscala.

I’ve been having Internet problems today so if this re-constructed post ends up being duplicated: sorry.

http://, NCDub

No disrespect–but is this what happens between seasons?–silly racist political stuff-personal diatribes–unfounded personal attacks–mindless & silly non-BB opinions–self serving posts….all from an elete group such as yourselves?

Wow…am I in the wrong room? I’ve lived here with opposite views, new BB news, great expectations, heart rending anectdotes–don’t let’s toss it!. You’re a special posting group, accepting oldies like GrampaTom w/o stats to buttress the point (sorry jsl–ha, ha…love you). Let’s all, get a grip & BTW what’s up with the upcoming (creatively challenged) draft? Still think the FO will, get a good piece…

And no…I’ve no right to chastise..glad to be in the DubClub.

http://, NCDub

PS Who would not like Darren Collison?

Gmoney

NC DUB, welcome to the offseason baby! This is how the FastBreak blog functions. We will throw in discussion about the A’s, Giants, Niners, Global Warming, politics. Sometimes it gets too personal and tedious, but no other blog will have the discussions you see here. I highly recommend getting your scroll finger up to speed because there will be stretches you will want to skip. But don’t despair, there will be great hoops talk all offseason.

Paul

Thank you Adam for all the insights. As a State fan I just wanted to follow Draymond’s career, and ended up learning more about/appreciating an entire cast of characters/professionals, as well as enjoying the post season ride. Looking forward to reading you next season. GO GREEN!! Paul

Gmoney

For the record, I also wouldn’t mind Levingston due to his size and ability to D up 2 guards.